1.
Album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves

2.
Morning Musume
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Morning Musume was formed in 1997 by rock singer-songwriter turned record producer Tsunku, who later composed the vast majority of the groups songs over the decade. They are the group of Hello. Project that specialises in upbeat, pop-oriented music coupled with dance performance, the group produced several splinter groups, and often collaborates with other Hello. Project acts, including Country Musume, Berryz Kobo, Cute, Melon Kinenbi, the groups name can be translated as Morning Girls or Morning Daughters, as the name suggests, it consists of members mostly in their late adolescence and early 20s. * All colour values are approximate, Japanese producer Tsunku started the group in 1997 through an audition for a female rock vocalist for his band Sharan Q. The audition was held on the Japanese TV show Asayan, the winner was Michiyo Heike, later to become a soloist under what would eventually become known as Hello. Tsunku decided to form a group consisting of five of the runners-up, Natsumi Abe, Yuko Nakazawa, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda. They were issued a challenge to sell 50,000 copies of their single, Ai no Tane. They managed the feat in four days in a very grassroots manner. In early 1998, the girls were ready with their first official single, the success of this single brought them three new members known as the second generation, Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, and Sayaka Ichii, bringing the total member count to eight. The second single, Summer Night Town, was the first single of the new lineup—a mature pop tune about unsuccessfully attempting to hide ones true feelings. Their third single, Daite Hold on Me. continued in the same vein musically as Summer Night Town, leader Nakazawa also started her solo career. First Time was released in July 1998, featuring the singles Ai no Tane, Morning Coffee and that year, Tsunku also formed Tanpopo, the first subgroup of Morning Musume, with Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Mari Yaguchi. Tanpopo touted slower, more mature songs, when Morning Coffee was released, however, Morning Musumes label Zetima went under different name, One Up Music. However, in April 1998, one month before the release of Summer Night Town, One Up Music ended its deal with Warner. Distribution rights would be given to Sony Music Japans sub label Epic Records for Summer Night Town, First Time, the song features rap passages by L The Headtoucha and intense vocal harmonization by the groups members. This was Asuka Fukudas last single with Morning Musume, making her currently the member at 2 years. Asuka claimed that she was leaving in order to focus on her studies, Manatsu no Kōsen was released in May and was a summer tune

3.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon

4.
J-pop
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J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. J-pop was further defined by new groups in the late 1970s, particularly electronic synthpop band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Eventually, J-pop replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene, the term was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese music from foreign music, and now refers to most Japanese popular music. The origin of modern J-pop is said to be Japanese-language rock music inspired by the likes of The Beatles, unlike the Japanese music genre called kayōkyoku, J-pop uses a special kind of pronunciation, which is similar to that of English. One notable singer to do so is Keisuke Kuwata, who pronounced the Japanese word karada as kyerada, additionally, unlike Western music, the major second was usually not used in Japanese music, except art music, before rock music became popular in Japan. At first, the term J-pop was used only for Western-style musicians in Japan, such as Pizzicato Five and Flippers Guitar, on the other hand, Mitsuhiro Hidaka of AAA from Avex Trax said that J-pop was originally derived from the Eurobeat genre. However, the became a blanket term, covering other music genres—such as the majority of Japanese rock music of the 1990s. O. A. Because the band did not want to perform J-pop music, their album featured the 1980s Pop of MTV, according to his fellow band member Toru Hidaka, the 1990s music that influenced him was not listened to by fans of other music in Japan at that time. Hide of Greeeen openly described their genre as J-pop. He said, I also love rock, hip hop and breakbeats, for example, hip hop musicians learn the culture of hip hop when they begin their career. We are not like those musicians and we love the music as very much. Those professional people may say What are you doing, but I think that our musical style is cool after all. By the Taishō period, Western musical techniques and instruments, which had introduced to Japan in the Meiji period, were widely used. Influenced by Western genres such as jazz and blues, ryūkōka incorporated Western instruments such as the violin, harmonica, however, the melodies were often written according to the traditional Japanese pentatonic scale. In the 1930s, Ichiro Fujiyama released popular songs with his tenor voice, Fujiyama sang songs with a lower volume than opera through the microphone. Jazz musician Ryoichi Hattori attempted to produce Japanese native music which had a flavor of blues and he composed Noriko Awayas hit song Wakare no Blues. Awaya became a popular singer and was called Queen of Blues in Japan. Due to pressure from the Imperial Army during the war, the performance of music was temporarily halted in Japan

5.
Electropop
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Electropop is a variant of synth-pop that places more emphasis on a harder, electronic sound. The genre has seen a revival of popularity and influence since the 2000s, the media in 2009 ran articles proclaiming a new era of different electropop stars and indeed, saw a rise in popularity of several electropop artists. In the Sound of 2009 poll of 130 music experts conducted for the BBC, lady Gaga had major commercial success since 2008 with her debut album The Fame. Music writer Simon Reynolds noted that Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, the second album by British singer Lily Allen released in 2009 called Its Not Me, Its You is largely electropop as opposed to her first ska album. Other female electropop acts that emerged were Ladyhawke, Kesha, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Elly Jackson of La Roux and Perfume. The Korean pop music scene has become dominated and influenced by electropop, particularly with boy bands and girl groups such as Super Junior, SHINee, F. Male acts that have emerged included British writer and producer Taio Cruz, who charted well in the U. S. along with one-man act Owl City, who had a U. S. number-one single, DJ Kaskade, and LMFAO. Singer Michael Angelakos of the Passion Pit said in a 2009 interview that while playing electropop was not his intention, so everything weve been put on to is electronic in nature. Music Projects with Propellerhead Reason, Grooves, Beats and Styles from Trip Hop to Techno

6.
Dance-pop
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Dance-pop is a pop and dance subgenre that originated in the early 1980s. It is generally up-tempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable, the genre, on the whole, tends to be producer-driven, despite some notable exceptions. Dance-pop borrowed influences from other genres, which varied by producer, artist, such include contemporary R&B, house, trance, techno, new jack swing, funk, synthpop, electropop and some forms of europop. Dance-pop is a mainstream style of music and there have been numerous pop artists. As the term started to go out of fashion by the late 1970s to early 1980s, other terms were commonly used to describe disco-based music, such as post-disco, club. Dance-pop music emerged in the 1980s as a combination of dance and pop, or post-disco, Dance-pop music was usually created, composed and produced by record producers who would then hire singers to perform the songs. In the beginning of the 80s disco was an anathema to the mainstream pop, according to prominent Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Madonna had a huge role in popularizing dance music as mainstream music, utilizing her charisma, chutzpah and sex appeal. Erlewine claimed that Madonna launched dance-pop and set the standard for the genre for the two decades. The staff of Vice magazine stated that her debut album drew the blueprint for future dance-pop, in the 1980s dance-pop was closely aligned to other up-tempo electronic genres, such as Hi-NRG. Prominent producers in the 1980s included Stock, Aitken and Waterman, during the decade, dance-pop borrowed influences from funk, new jack swing, and contemporary R&B. Other prominent dance-pop artists and groups of the 1980s included the Pet Shop Boys, Mel and Kim, Samantha Fox, Debbie Gibson, by the 1990s, dance-pop had become a major genre in popular music. Several dance-pop groups and artists emerged during the 1990s, such as the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Backstreet Boys, during the early 1990s, dance-pop borrowed influences from house music, as well as contemporary R&B and new jack swing. Additionally, also in 1998, Cher released a song called Believe which made usage of a technological innovation of the time. An audio processor and a form of pitch modification software, Auto-Tune is commonly used as a way to correct pitch, since the late 1990s, the use of Auto-Tune processing has become a common feature of dance-pop music. Celine Dion also released a dance-pop song Thats the Way It Is by the end of 1999 and it has a moderately slow tempo but an up-beat song. At the beginning of the 2000s, dance-pop music was still prominent, nonetheless, as R&B and hip hop became extremely popular from the early part of the decade onwards, dance-pop often borrowed a lot of its influences from urban music. Dance-pop stars from the 1980s and 1990s such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Janet Jackson, in Madonnas case, her album Music contained elements of Euro disco, especially the successful eponymous lead single. Britney Spears album Blackout contained influences of Euro disco, the mid-to-late 2000s saw the arrival of several new dance-pop artists, including Rihanna, Kesha, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry

7.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu

8.
The Best!: Updated Morning Musume
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Updated Morning Musume is Morning Musumes sixth-best album that was released in Japan on September 25,2013. This is the first Morning Musume album to feature 11th-generation member Oda Sakura, all songs are composed by Tsunku Love Machine I Wish Renai Revolution 21 The Peace. Aruiteru Renai Hunter One Two Three Wakuteka Take a Chance Help me, brainstorming Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke Wolf Boy Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke Ai no Gundan The Best. Updated Morning Musume Album Making-of and Interview Video

9.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s

10.
Pyoco Pyoco Ultra
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Pyoco Pyoco Ultra is the 48th single by the Japanese female idol group Morning Musume, released in Japan on January 25,2012 on the Zetima label. It is the first single to feature 10th generation members and it is also the first single since Takahashi Ais graduation from the group, and the first single with Risa Niigaki as leader. The single was supposed to be released on December 21,2011. The single was released in four versions, a regular CD-only edition, project CD singles, there also was a Single V published. It appeared a week later, on February 1,2012, all songs written and composed by Tsunku. Pyoco Pyoco Ultra arranged by Shōichirō Hirata, kanashiki Koi no Melody arranged by Kaoru Ōkubo. Sealed both into the Limited Edition and into the first press of the Regular Edition Event ticket lottery card with a serial number Review, Pyoco Pyoco Ultra / Morning Musume - Hotexpress

11.
Ren'ai Hunter
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Renai Hunter is the 49th single by the Japanese female idol group Morning Musume, released in Japan on April 11,2012. Renai Hunter is the single for the 10th generation members. It also became the last single to feature Aika Mitsui, who would announce her graduation from the due to a foot injury that was taking a long time to recover. The single will be released in six versions, a regular edition, the Regular Edition and the Limited Editions D and E are CD-only. The Limited Editiona A, B, and C come with a DVD containing a version of the music video for the title song. The Limited Edition E is a version to commemorate Risa Niigakis graduation from Morning Musume. It contains a song, performed by her. The song is a cover of Egao ni Namida from Aya Matsuuras 2002 album First Kiss, so, the Limited Edition D contains the same tracks as the Regular Edition, but sports a different cover and includes a lottery card. The title track is a song with a dubstep-influenced arrangement. Morning Musumes producer Tsunku explained that he made a dance music song with deep bass. Also, Tsunku has revealed that the coupling track Watashi ga Ite Kimi ga Iru is an energetic song, Aika Mitsui didnt participate in the dance parts of the video due to leg injury. In her close-up at the end of the video, Risa Niigaki says silently. The music video was published on March 21 on Morning Musumes official YouTube channel. On Sunday, March 25, Tanaka Reina wrote in her blog that, in the YouTube most-viewed video rankings, Renai Hunter was currently at number 1* in Japan, track listing * from Morning Musume Concert Tour 2011 Aki Ai Believe, Takahashi Ai Sotsugyō Kinen Special

12.
Rolling Stone
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Rolling Stone is an American biweekly magazine that focuses on popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the publisher. It was first known for its coverage and for political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine shifted focus to a readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors. In recent years, it has resumed its traditional mix of content, Rolling Stone magazine was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and Ralph Gleason. To get it off the ground, Wenner borrowed $7,500 from his own family and from the parents of his soon-to-be wife, Jane Schindelheim. The first issue carried a date of November 9,1967. Some authors have attributed the name solely to Dylans hit single, At Gleasons suggestion, Rolling Stone initially identified with and reported the hippie counterculture of the era. In the very first edition, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone is not just about the music, in the 1970s, Rolling Stone began to make a mark with its political coverage, with the likes of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson writing for the magazines political section. Thompson first published his most famous work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas within the pages of Rolling Stone, where he remained a contributing editor until his death in 2005. In the 1970s, the magazine also helped launch the careers of prominent authors, including Cameron Crowe, Lester Bangs, Joe Klein, Joe Eszterhas, Patti Smith. It was at point that the magazine ran some of its most famous stories. One interviewer, speaking for a number of his peers, said that he bought his first copy of the magazine upon initial arrival on his college campus. In 1977, the magazine moved its headquarters from San Francisco to New York City, editor Jann Wenner said San Francisco had become a cultural backwater. During the 1980s, the magazine began to shift towards being an entertainment magazine. Music was still a dominant topic, but there was increasing coverage of celebrities in television, films, the magazine also initiated its annual Hot Issue during this time. Rolling Stone was initially known for its coverage and for Thompsons political reporting. In the 1990s, the changed its format to appeal to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors

13.
Reina Tanaka
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Reina Tanaka is a Japanese pop-rock singer and a member of the Japanese rock band Lovendor. Her professional first name is written in hiragana to distinguish her from the Japanese actress Rena Tanaka, whose name is using the same kanji. She is a member of idol group Morning Musume. Tanaka was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan and her brother is seven years younger than her. Tanaka auditioned for a spot in Morning Musumes 5th Generation in 2001 and passed and she attempted again in 2002 for a position in the 6th Generation and passed along with members Eri Kamei and Sayumi Michishige, making Tanaka the only member who auditioned twice to get in. She provided the vocals for the single Shabondama. She was featured in two versions of Memory Seishun no Hikari on a fan club release CD. In 2003, Tanaka was chosen as a member of new unit Aa. along with Miyabi Natsuyaki and Airi Suzuki and they released one single, First Kiss, before going on an indefinite hiatus. The group reformed in 2009, only time without Tanaka. Her place in the group was taken by Hello. On March 28,2008, it was announced that Tanaka would be taking on the acting role of Kirara, a main character in Sanrios anime Onegai My Melody Kirara. The show premiered on April 6,2008, in 2008, Tanaka became the leader of Hello Projects new unit High-King. It was revealed in late 2009 that Tanaka would be voicing the character of the new anime series. The main character, Reinya, had initially been modeled on Tanaka, the show began airing on January 8,2010. Tanaka graduated from Morning Musume on May 21,2013, attracted DVD Hoshisuna no Shima, Watashi no Shima, Island Dreamin Yona Yona Penguin - Voice of Fairy Keitai Deka The Movie 3 Morning Musume Kyushutsu Daisakusen. Pandora no Hako no Himitsu Vampire Stories, Chasers Ribbon no Kishi, Official blog Official profile Official LoVendoЯ Site

14.
Sayumi Michishige
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Sayumi Michishige is a former sixth-generation member and former leader of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Following the departure of fifth-generation member Risa Niigaki on October 12,2013, Michishige was born in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She joined Morning Musume in 2003 along with Eri Kamei, Miki Fujimoto, and Reina Tanaka, in 2005, she was assigned as mentor to seventh-generation member Koharu Kusumi, until Kusumi left the group in December 2009. Michishige was also a member of the Hello, project unit Ecomoni, along with former Morning Musume member Rika Ishikawa. She portrays an extremely narcissistic image of herself in more TV shows, often calling herself the cutest member in Morning Musume, in one of the skits known as Hello. Morning Theatre on their variety show, Hello, Morning, she frequently played a character known as Ichiban Kawaii. She is the youngest child in the family, she has an elder brother, in 2002, at the age of 13, Michishige participated in the Love Audition 2002 held by Up-Front Agency in search of new members for the Japanese female idol group Morning Musume. Tens of thousand of contestants auditioned, but only four where chosen in the final stage, Michishige, along with Eri Kamei, Miki Fujimoto, and Reina Tanaka were admitted to Morning Musume as sixth-generation members on January 19,2003. On July 16,2003, the members released their first photobook and corresponding DVD. Their musical debut came shortly thereafter, on July 30, with Morning Musumes 19th single, towards the end of 2003, Michishige began appearing in the show Revelations of M, as a regular with ex-Morning Musume member Yuko Nakazawa. 2004 saw her first appearance on an album, Best, Morning Musume 2, and in a movie—Star Sand Island, My Island - Island Dreamin. During the summer, Michishige appeared in her first solo photobook and was placed in a unit called Ecomoni with fourth-generation Morning Musume member Rika Ishikawa. Project soloist Aya Matsuura, with whom they released the main theme for the film. Lets Go Ayayamu —and appeared in subsequent festivals, in 2005, Michshige and Rika Ishikawa released a duo photobook titled Angels. Michishige also appeared as a news anchor on Hello. Morning for most of the half of 2005. That same year, she was assigned to be a mentor to seventh-generation member Koharu Kusumi, following in fellow Morning Musume member Miki Fujimotos footsteps, Michishige began hosting a radio show titled Hypernight - Michishige Sayumi Konya mo Usa-chan Peace in October 2006. Michishiges second solo photobook, titled Longing, was published on January 15,2007, shot in Okinawa, the book featured school uniform, swimsuit, simple one-piece, and wet yukata/bathrobe shots, in an attempt to convey a more mature image of the seventeen-year-old idol

15.
Tower Records
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Tower Records was a retail music chain based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as a franchise and an online music store. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, Tower. com was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings. The corporate name was MTS Inc. but this was compared to the much more widely recognized Tower Records. In 1960, Russell Solomon opened the first Tower Records store on Watt Avenue, in Sacramento and he named it for his fathers drugstore, which shared a building and name with the Tower Theater, where Solomon first started selling records. By 1976, Solomon had opened Tower Books, Posters, and Plants at 1600 Broadway, in 1995, Tower. com opened, making the enterprise one of the first retailers to move online. Seven years after its founding, Tower Records expanded to San Francisco, opening a store in what was originally a store at Bay Street. The Tower Records stores in Japan split off from the chain and are now independent. In New York City, Tower Records operated a suite of stores on and it was a noted hangout for teenagers from the wider metropolitan area. The Tower Records Annex was in the building, but located in the back at the southwest corner of East 4th and Lafayette Streets, and stocked items that were older. The third store, Tower Video located on the southeast corner of East 4th and Lafayette Streets, specialized in video and, for a while, the second floor of this location also sold books. Their location on the Upper West Side, near Lincoln Center on 66th Street, the Nashville location on West End Avenue was in a former Packard dealership. The old showroom floor in front was devoted to CDs, cassettes, the area in the back housed videocassette sales and rentals, PC and console games and music paraphernalia. The strip mall next door contained a separate Tower Books, the location was famous for their late-night Monday events that culminated at midnight on Tuesday when staff started ringing up sales of new releases. Because of the proximity to Music Row, country music stars could occasionally be seen performing or shopping there. As part of a 2002 settlement with 41 states over CD price fixing Tower Records, along with retailers Musicland and Trans World Entertainment and it is estimated that between 1995 and 2000 customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album. In 2005, the company began using scan and listen stations in its stores and these stations allowed customers to listen to audio samples from CDs and to search for particular songs, albums and artists. This model of listening station is used at the Arizona-based chain Zia Records

16.
Maki Goto
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Maki Goto is a Japanese singer, lyricist, and former actress. Born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo, Goto began her career in 1999 when she joined Morning Musume as the only third generation member. Her first single with the group, Love Machine, topped the Oricon singles charts, Goto was the lead vocalist of the group up until her graduation from the group in 2002. While still a member of Morning Musume, Goto released her solo single, Ai no Bakayarō, in 2001. In 2003 she released her album, Makking Gold 1. In 2007, at her G-Emotion II, How to Use Sexy concert, in 2008, Goto signed with Avex Group sub-label Rhythm Zone and returned to the music scene at A-nation 08. In 2009, under the stage name Sweet Black feat, Maki Goto, she released her debut mini-album Sweet Black. Goto transferred to Avex Trax in 2010 and released her second mini-album, One, in 1999, Maki Goto was selected as the only member of the 3rd generation of Morning Musume. The first single to feature Goto, Love Machine, sold over a million copies, during her time in Morning Musume she was one of the founding members of Petitmoni and she started a solo singing career in 2001 with the single Ai no Bakayarō. Until her graduation from Morning Musume she was one of the vocalists in most of the songs released. Post-graduation she mostly concentrated on her career, and occasionally on temporary Hello. Project units such as Gomattō, Nochiura Natsumi, and Def. Diva, as time passed, she increasingly concentrated on acting in addition to singing. She also performed at the Asia Song Festival 2005 in Busan, Korea, in early 2007, Goto was chosen to be a member of Morning Musume Tanjō10 Nen Kinentai — a unit created to celebrate Morning Musumes 10th anniversary as a group. Morning Musume Tanjō10 Nen Kinentai also consisted of Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Risa Niigaki and their first single, Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia, was released on January 24,2007. Her seventeenth single, Secret, was released on April 11,2007, on September 19,2007, Gotos fourth original album How to Use Sexy was released. On October 28,2007, during the show of her G-EmotionII, How to Use Sexy tour. Project, though she was also leaving UpFront Agency completely and her graduation was said to be that she was overworked and overly stressed, causing her health problems. She also had different ideas of the direction of her career to what her agency had planned, because of her graduation, she would not be able to participate in the Hello

17.
Ai Kago
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Ai Kago, born February 7,1988 in Yamatotokada, Nara, Japan, is a Japanese singer, actress, author, and former Guinness World Record holder. Kago began her career at the age of 12 as a member of the idol group Morning Musume. In the same year, she became a member of Minimoni. In 2004, she graduated from both the groups and formed W with Nozomi Tsuji. In 2006, Kago was suspended from the group and dismissed a year later, in 2008 she embarked on a career in film and recorded a jazz album two years later. At age 12, Kago won the 4th National Audition of Morning Musume held by the Up-Front Works in 2000, on April 15, she, along with Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, and Nozomi Tsuji, were inducted into the idol group Morning Musume as its fourth generation. Their recording debut was in the ninth single Happy Summer Wedding. Kago and Tsujis addition to the received positive critical response. With an increasing fan base, they, along with fellow Morning Musume member Mari Yaguchi and Coconuts Musume member Mika Todd, in addition to this, Kago was also admitted into established subgroup Tanpopo as a second generation member. From 2001 to 2004 Kago participated in the annual Hello, in August 2004, Kago and Tsuji graduated from Morning Musume together after Minimoni began their indefinite hiatus. Under the arrangement of their agency, Kago and Tsuji formed a new pop duo, W, before the release of their seventh single and their third album, W3, Faithful, on February 9,2006, Friday published photos showing Kago smoking. The following day, her agency issued a statement saying that she. Kago spent the remainder of the year under house arrest at her familys residence in Nara, during this time, she was not allowed to have contact with Tsuji or any of the other members from her agency, and she was caught smoking again during her probation period. In 2007 Up-Front Works reported that they were working on her comeback, in late March 2007, photos of Kago going to an onsen with a man 18 years her senior and smoking for a third time circulated in the media, further tarnishing her reputation. Not long after, Yuukichi Kawaguchi, the director of Up-Front Works, after Kago departed from Up-Front Agency, her mother attempted to sign her to a new talent agency in her hometown, Nara. Later that year, Josei Seven published an interview with her mother, revealing that Kago left Japan, Kago herself later revealed that she had actually not gone to New York, but rather to Los Angeles for three months because she felt like a criminal in Japan. During her stay, she met people who encouraged her, including Winona Ryder and she also considered suicide and cut her wrists. Kago made a return to the entertainment industry in 2008 with plans of pursuing an acting career

18.
Mari Yaguchi
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Mari Yaguchi is a Japanese pop artist, actress and TV personality and former member of Hello. She is a member of Japanese idol group Morning Musume and various sub-groups and spin-offs. Yaguchi became a member of Japanese idol band Morning Musume during the second generation auditions in 1998, in her early years in the group, Yaguchi was often perceived as being the short one, as she did not stand out a lot. However, by the time 4th generation members joined, she had one of the most active members of the group. Her famous catchphrase is Sexy Beam, One of her solo lines from Morning Musumes Koi no Dance Site single, and she was asked jokingly in Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari, When will your real sexy beam come out. Line has made its way around fans and fellow musicians alike, when she resigned from Morning Musume, she was the last member to have joined before the year 2000. Yaguchi resigned from the band suddenly in April 2005 and her stated reason was a desire to move on as an adult with her career. Yaguchis TV show Yaguchi Hitori continued as before, and she began to focus on Japanese variety shows rather than on a singing career. Her first post-Morning Musume recording, Nigiyaka na Fuyu, a collaboration with Berryz Kobo, Yaguchi starred in the Japanese drama series Sentō no Musume. Yaguchi was also one of the actors in the Japanese daytime drama series Gal Circle. She co-hosted her show Yaguchi Hitori, and did MCing for Hello, from May 25,2007 to June 6,2007, Yaguchi performed in Damn Yankees, a popular 1955 Broadway musical, at the Tokyo Aoyama Theater. In the summer of 2007, Yaguchi was recruited to host the Gyao internet TV show Midtown TV, pro Eggs appeared on the live-audience show Ciao TV. Yaguchi, together with the entire Hello, project Elder Club, graduated from the project on March 31,2009. A graduation concert was held at Yokohama Arena on February 1,2009, following the popularity of singles and an album released in conjunction with the Japanese variety program Quiz. Hexagon II, Yaguchi released her single, Seishun Boku/Seishun Ore. In December 2010 it was announced that Yaguchi would join the newly formed group, Yaguchi married actor Masaya Nakamura in May 2011. The two had planned to marry in March of that year, but postponed to May due to the Tōhoku earthquake, Yaguchi legally changed her name to Nakamura, but stated that she would continue to use Yaguchi as her stage name. On May 21,2013, Josei Seven magazine reported that Yaguchi and Nakamura had been living apart since late February, Umeda had canceled his social media accounts without explanation in early March, but he denied doing anything wrong following the Josei Seven report

19.
Rika Ishikawa
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Rika Ishikawa, is a Japanese pop singer, TV/radio hostess, idol, actress and model associated with the Hello. Project banner and best known as a member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio v-u-den until June 2008. She is working as a soloist, a member of the Japanese pop idol group Ongaku Gatas, in the pop duo Hangry & Angry as Angry and she is currently the only person of the 4th Generation of Morning Musume to remain single. Rika Ishikawa was born on January 19,1985 in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, in 2001, simultaneously with her Morning Musume obligations, Ishikawa became a featured member of the then-semi-dormant Hello. Project pop group Country Musume and a member of Morning Musumes first subgroup. She also participated in her first shuffle group recording, 3-nin Matsuri, with fellow Morning Musume/Tanpopo member Ai Kago, one of Ishikawas most referenced vocal parts during her Morning Musume days was a frantic spoken word piece in the middle eight of their 2003 single Shabondama. She also said a spoken word piece at the end of the song The Peace, which she has said was one of her favorite Morning Musume moments. In September 2004, her new trio, v-u-den, released their debut single and she graduated from Morning Musume on May 7,2005, and after five singles, v-u-den finally released their debut album, Suiteroom Number 1, in November 2005. Ishikawa has starred in a Hamtaro movie with her Ecomoni partner, Sayumi Michishige and she was a Pocky Girl, and also plays for Gatas Brilhantes H. P. Ishikawa graduated from Morning Musume on the last day of the Morning Musume Concert Tour 2005 Haru ~Dai 6 Kan Hit Mankai. ~, during this concert, 7th generation member Kusumi Koharu was officially introduced into Morning Musume and replaced her spot. After her graduation, she replaced Nakazawa Yuko as the host of Hello. Morning till it ended in 2007, in mid-2007, Ishikawa joined the Japanese idol group Ongaku Gatas along with fellow members of Gatas Brilhantes H. P. Hangry & Angry will be making their first United States performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle and it was announced on October 19,2008, on the official Hello. Project website, that Ishikawa will graduate from Hello. Project along with the rest of Elder Club on March 31,2009, Ishikawa joined the newly formed group, Dream Morning Musume in 2010 alongside other former Morning Musume members. On January 1,2010 Ishikawa opened up an official blog

20.
Hitomi Yoshizawa
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Hitomi Yoshizawa is a former leader of the idol pop group Morning Musume, singer, idol, actress, model and current member of the pop duo Hangry & Angry as Hangry. She is the current leader of the Hello, project futsal team Gatas Brilhantes H. P. and the idol group derived from its lineup, Ongaku Gatas, and is also currently a member of Japanese pop group Dream Morning Musume. Yoshizawa became a member of the Hello, project group Morning Musume in 2000, as a member of the fourth generation along with Rika Ishikawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, making her debut in the groups ninth single Happy Summer Wedding. She was also featured in the theatrical release of Pinch Runner. She also appeared with the group in the television show Hello. Morning in various segments including a match featuring the members of the 5th and 6th Generations where she played the role of the referee. In the past, she has often been perceived as the member of the group, due to her voice, manners. Furthering this perception of her side, Yoshizawas first lead came in 2001 with the release of the single Mr. Moonlight, Ai no Big Band. She has since managed to overcome this, as many view her as having matured out of her formerly tomboyish character once having assumed leadership of Morning Musume in 2005. Yoshizawa became the Captain of the Hello, project futsal team, Gatas Brilhantes H. P. when it was formed in September 2003. The 55 midfielder has since managed to lead the team to victory on many occasions, Yoshizawa also convinced teammate Nozomi Tsuji to remain as the teams goalkeeper, despite her graduation from Morning Musume in 2004. In April 2005, after the sudden and unexpected departure of Morning Musumes then-leader Mari Yaguchi, Yoshizawa, after Rika Ishikawas graduation in May 2005, Yoshizawa became the last remaining member of her generation. On January 11,2007, Yoshizawas younger brother Kōta Yoshizawa was killed in a traffic accident. On May 6,2007, Yoshizawa graduated from Morning Musume after the bands last performance in the Sexy 8 Beat Spring Tour, according to several news sources, producer Tsunku, and Yoshizawa herself, she would enter a solo career of her own. At the time of her graduation, she had the second longest tenure of any Morning Musume member of 7 years and 21 days and she was also considered by some fans to be the last trace of the Golden era of Morning Musume. She is also, as of September 2008, one of four members to remain in the group for over 7 years. Yoshizawa then focused her time on Gatas Brilhantes H. P. along with being leader of a group formed with members of the futsal team called Ongaku Gatas. The duo made their first US performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle in April 2009 and their first European performance was at Chibi Japan expo in Montreuil on October 31,2009

21.
Miki Fujimoto
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Miki Shōji, professionally known by her birth name of Miki Fujimoto, and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese pop singer and television actress. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, project in 2002 with the single Aenai Nagai Nichiyōbi. Fujimoto later joined Morning Musume in 2003 along with the sixth generation, Fujimoto was born and raised in the Takikawa area of Hokkaidō, Japan. She has a brother, who won a defamation case alongside Fujimoto in 2009. Fujimoto originally started out as a singer in 2002 under the idol family Hello. Project, becoming the first of six members to debut under Hello, project after losing a Morning Musume audition. She is often called by fans as Aya Matsuuras rival, but in fact, after a successful performance on the music program on New Years Eve, Kōhaku Uta Gassen, producer Tsunku added her to Morning Musume as a sixth generation member in 2003. At the time, she was the 3rd oldest person to join the group, as she was nearly 18 years old, although with the addition of Chinese member, Junjun and she is also one of five members to debut as a part of the Hello. She sang many of the lines in Morning Musume songs. She and fellow Morning Musume member Asami Konno were also lent to Country Musume, in October 2002, she was placed in the one-shot unit, Gomattou with two other prominent pop soloists under Hello. Project, Maki Goto, and Aya Matsuura, project Shuffle groups Odoru 11, 11Water, H. P. In 2003, when Morning Musume was split into two groups, she was placed in Morning Musume Otomegumi, on June 15,2006 it was announced that Fujimoto and Aya Matsuura would join together in a new Hello. Their debut single was released on September 13,2006, on May 6,2007, after the graduation of then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa, Fujimoto took her place as the fifth leader of Morning Musume. On May 24,2007, Fujimoto was featured in the Japanese gossip magazine Friday pictured walking with Tomoharu Shōji, Friday explained that they had a two-hour dinner together, drove to Fujimotos apartment, then went to the sauna, returning to Shōjis apartment just after midnight. It soon became apparent that she was to be involved in a scandal that would jeopardize her position in Morning Musume, after seeing the article, Up-Front Agency had no intention to deal with the situation since there was no proof of them dating. On the May 26,2007 edition of Young Town Doyōbi, she confirmed that the pictures were of her, and she also mentioned that she spoke to the head of Up-Front Agency, Naoki Yamazaki, about the situation. On June 1,2007, Fujimoto resigned from her position in Morning Musume and she continued with GAM and remained contracted with Hello. On April 23,2008, Fujimoto released a single, Okitegami